Sunday was beautiful. The weather has finally turned warm here and we were all hanging out on a neighbor’s stoop Sunday evening. I had planned to make Barley Risotto with Asparagus (still trying to make that Barley Asparagus combo work!) and had actually measured out the broth, cleaned and sliced the asparagus and measured out the barley earlier in the day. Well now I found myself on said stoop with a beer in hand and children happily playing and just couldn’t tear myself away and head inside. So I stayed on the stoop, sampling said neighbor’s fresh bread with butter.
When I finally tore myself away from the convivial, summer neighborhood fun I knew that the three-year-old, now over-hungry, was not going to wait for risotto. And I had a pastry-chef friend coming over to sample/critique a sample wedding cake after dinner so . . .What is the quickest cooking grain? I think it’s quinoa so that’s what was made. I basically treated it like I would have the rice (sans slowly adding broth and stirring) and we had ourselves the most delicious quick quinoa/risotto. I’m definitely going to repeat this technique and try other veggies as well.
Needless to say I did not remember to take a photo of the prep or the finished dish, so my son doing his version of improv it is!
Quick Quinoa “Risotto” with Asparagus
This technique is actually more like Spanish Rice than Risotto but whatever you want to call it, it’s worth trying.
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 slice of bacon, diced (optional)
1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends snapped off, and cut diagonally into 1-2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
handful of grated parmesan or other hard cheese
3 cups veggies broth or stock (I used my homemade Veggie Bouillon)
olive oil
Heat broth in a small pan. Saute onion and bacon in large saute pan with 2 Tbs of olive oil until onion is translucent and soft. Rinse quinoa well and strain thoroughly. Add quinoa to onions and bacon and saute for a few minutes until dried out and slightly toasty over high heat. Add broth all at once. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover. After about 10 minutes spread asparagus over quinoa and cover again. Cook until quinoa and asparagus are done–about 3-4 minutes. Add parmesan and some more good olive oil and mix well. Voila!
P.S. I still have a few spots in this Saturday’s Cooking Class on Hearty One-Dish Salads and meal with Grains and Beans and lots of Veggies. It’s a fabulous class! Check it out and sign up if you’re interested.
Joy Plummer says:
Wow, that does sound fast and GREAT! I love quinoa, and have been using it more lately, but still don’t feel completely at ease with it. Thanks for the recipe! (Of course, my husband won’t eat asparagus, so I’ll have to sub something he’ll eat.
:-p)
Karen Farmer says:
Wail on, sweet little E!
Scott says:
That neighbor sounds like an awesome person. Maybe super awesome. No, no, DEFINITELY super awesome. I think he has a blog – swedishandboo.blogspot.com
Andrea Lorimor says:
I read this post last weekend and promptly shuffled off to Barbur World Foods to pick up necessary ingredients…can’t wait to try it! YUM.